By admin When I was initially planning for my year of travel, I left the Maldives off my list. Yes, the Maldives were a remote, aspirational, “bucket list” destination, but in my mind the islands were a place for couples: honeymooners, anniversary-celebrators, romance-seekers. Perhaps also appropriate for some well-heeled families. But I doubted I could convince a friend to join me for a girls trip, and I certainly wasn’t going to visit such an indulgent, scenic destination on my own.
Or could I? After booking an incredible flight deal to Singapore by transferring American Express points to Singapore Airlines miles, I found myself with a few extra days in the region before having to meet my friend Vicki in Hanoi, Vietnam. Malé, the capital city of the Maldives, was “only” a four hour flight from Singapore. And, I could book a stay at the Park Hyatt Hadahaa for just 25k points/night (transferred from Chase). A visit to the Maldives was starting to look like a no-brainer, especially after my friends Johnny and Erica urged me to make the trip (they had stayed at the Park Hyatt Hahahaa the previous year).
Getting to the Park Hyatt Hadahaa Still Took All Day
Even though I was able to book a relatively quick flight from Singapore to Malé that would get me to the capital city at 1:40pm, there was a catch. When planning a trip to the Maldives, it’s important to consider the additional travel that may be required to reach your personal island destination. Some resorts can be reached via a quick water taxi from Malé; others require a regional plane that can’t be planned in advance. In the case of the Park Hyatt, I was subjected to the latter situation. After landing in Malé, I had to wait four hours for the regional plane, then take a 30 minute boat ride to the island of Hadahaa. By the time I arrived at the resort, I had been traveling all day, and it was pitch black. Not ideal.
Another thing to consider when traveling to the Maldives: the country is predominantly Muslim, and alcohol is strictly regulated. It is illegal to bring booze into the country, and it’s not possible to purchase duty-free alcohol upon arrival in Malé. Thus, visitors are at the mercy of their resort if they want to enjoy adult beverages (which were ridiculously over-priced at the Park Hyatt).
Regardless of all this, I was still ecstatic once I finally made it to the resort, and I had no problem forking over $20 each for a couple of cocktails while I enjoyed a late poolside dinner, then crashed in my starter room.
Park Hyatt Room Strategy
One unique thing about the Park Hyatt is that the resort frequently offers the option to upgrade to a higher category room with cash, even if you’ve booked with points. As such, I planned to stay in my entry-level room (Park Villa) the first two nights, then transfer to a Park Water Villa for the second two nights. It was a $500/night up-charge for the overwater villa, but considering that I would only be paying $1000 cash for four nights’ accommodations in the Maldives (plus 25k points/night), I felt pretty good about the deal. And how could I visit the Maldives and not stay in one of the overwater villas?!
Day One: Relaxing and Making Friends
The weather was kind of iffy on my first full day, and I was tired from my big trip from Singapore, so I wasn’t too ambitious with plans on day one. I slept in, hit the gym, acquainted myself with the island, and settled in on a chair by the pool with a book. I tried not to freak out about the giant fruit bats swooping between the palm trees (the staff assured me they were friendly) or the creepy sand crabs.
I decided to hit the beach with a happy hour cocktail for sunset. While the weather hadn’t been ideal for sunbathing, the clouds helped to create a dramatically colorful sunset. The beach was mostly empty except for a scattering of couples, and I felt very relaxed as I sipped on my Negroni.
Then, a couple seated nearby interrupted my reverie. “Hey, how are you doing?” they asked, obviously intoxicated. Well, I wasn’t one to turn down a friendly overture while traveling on my own, and I was on my way to becoming intoxicated myself, so I decided to engage. Rebecca and Anthony were from New Zealand and Australia, respectively. They used to work together at a high-end resort in Fiji (Rebecca still worked in Guest Relations there, while Anthony had moved on to working as a chef for the Saudi royal family). Rebecca had won the Maldives trip in an auction, and had invited Anthony as her plus one. I got the sense that they weren’t an always-on couple (Rebecca lived in Fiji and Anthony lived in Saudi Arabia, which would be a pretty crazy long distance relationship). They were clearly more than friends, but they also didn’t seem to be on an intensely romantic vacation, so I was pleased to enjoy their company.
We decided to have dinner together, which turned into a bit of a shit show (Rebecca’s package included all-inclusive meals and alcohol, which she and Anthony were taking full advantage of, not that I was judging). I could tell they were good, smart, interesting people even if they had over-indulged that day, and I delighted in the idea of having some friends on the island for the next few days.
Day Two: More Relaxation, Transfer to the Water Villa, Attempt at Snorkeling
The following day started slowly again. I slept in, hit the gym, packed my bags, and headed to the pool with a book.
In the early afternoon, I was able to get settled into my Park Water Villa accommodations, which did not disappoint. The Park Villa room had been incredibly nice and private, but I loved the feeling of staying on top of the water – it was almost like being on a boat.
One of the other benefits of the Park Water Villas was private access to the Park Hyatt’s house reef. While the coral had sadly been bleached in previous years, the water was still unbelievably clear, and it was home to a number of stunningly beautiful sea creatures. I was eager to snorkel (the Park Hyatt provided a complimentary set of gear), so I rushed to jump into the water off the side of my villa in the afternoon. Disregarding the increasingly choppy waters, I started swimming with the current, oohing and ahhing at all the brightly-colored fish in the sea. Then I looked up and realized I had drifted a long distance away from my villa. I’ll admit that I’m not the most confident swimmer, especially when I am fighting a current and nervous about scratching myself on coral. I quickly started to paddle back in the direction of my villa, inadvertently sucking in mouthfuls of salt water as the waves began to pick up. Was I going to have to start screaming for someone to save me? I kept looking toward the villas, feeling like I was making hardly any progress, and inwardly yelling at myself for getting into the pathetic situation of potentially drowning while snorkeling at a high-end resort.
Thankfully, I made it back to my villa on my own, where I proceeded to catch my breath and spit out salt water in between swishes of fresh water. After a calming shower, I lounged on my sun bed with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and relished the fact that I had survived my first Maldives snorkeling excursion. Why had I thought it would be a good idea to go snorkeling in the choppy open sea by myself in the first place? Ugh, one of the downsides of traveling solo.
I ran into Rebecca and Anthony later later that afternoon, and we chatted for awhile, although I didn’t recount my near-death experience at sea. Rebecca was openly very hungover after their previous day of overindulgence. I invited them over for sunset drinks at my villa the following day, before we would all depart for our next adventures.
Day Three: More of the Same
While the sky had vacillated between overcast and partly sunny the previous couple of days, it started to clear up on day three. While I was happy to see the blue skies, the unrelenting sun was also HOT. After a visit to the gym, I was determined to redeem myself and my snorkeling capabilities, if only in my own mind. This time around, I made sure to get out early, before the wind and chop started to pick up. I also forced myself to start swimming against the current, so that the return to my villa would be the easy part. So much better! I kicked around for what seemed like hours, then returned to my deck, fully satisfied and proud of my accomplished self. Then I looked at my watch. I had been out for fifteen minutes. Hmm. Well, it seemed like a great time for some Sauvignon Blanc.
A couple hours later, Rebecca and Anthony arrived with a bottle of Champagne for our last night sunset celebration. The following day, they would be continuing on to another resort in the Maldives, then on to Dubai. I would be taking a red eye flight from Malé to Singapore, then on to Hanoi, Vietnam. We clinked glasses as we watched the sun set over the beautiful, clear waters.
At dinner, I listened to Rebecca and Anthony recount stories from their lives in the hospitality industry. Anthony in particular had some crazy experiences working for the Saudi royals, and living in Saudi Arabia in general. We played the restaurant game, comparing notes on our favorite restaurants in the world, as well as the places that we still dreamed about visiting. He showed me a picture of him on a bike with René Redzepi, letting me know to reach out if I ever needed help getting into Noma. Okay, check. I’ll keep that connection in my back pocket.
They had an early morning transfer to their next resort, so they put themselves to bed at a reasonable hour like responsible adults. I was still shocked and pleased that I had met such entertaining people in the Maldives. After feeling pretty lonely in Brazil and Singapore, it was a pleasant reminder that unexpected fun was still out there to be found.
Day Four: Last Hours in the Maldives
My last day in the Maldives was the sunniest and hottest yet. I had planned my visit in late October, at the end of shoulder season and the beginning of prime time in the region, and while it was nice to see the clear water reflecting the azure skies, it was also incredibly hot without any cloud cover. I found myself missing the partly cloudy days of the past.
Day #4 wasn’t too noteworthy. I made one last visit to the gym in preparation for a full-on food binge in Vietnam. I finally snapped a picture of one of the Korean couples wearing matching outfits at the resort (Anthony, Rebecca, and I had been dying laughing about the phenomenon, but I had to admit it was pretty cute in a “I would never do this myself” kind of way). I survived a final fifteen minute solo snorkeling paddle and rewarded myself with a beer for my mastery. I finished reading my book (“In a Sunburned Country,” but also known as “Down Under,” by Bill Bryson, a wonderful account of travels in Australia). Finally, big kudos to the Park Hyatt for offering me a 5pm checkout since I was on the last flight out of Malé (11:25pm).
